Foreign exchange company

A non-bank foreign exchange company also known as foreign exchange broker or simply forex broker is a company that offers currency exchange and international payments to private individuals and companies. The term is typically used for currency exchange companies that offer physical delivery rather than speculative trading. i.e., there is a physical delivery of currency to a bank account.

Foreign exchange companies are normally distinct from money transfer companies or remittance companies and bureaux de change as they typically perform high-value transfers unlike their money transfer counterparts that focus on high-volume low-value transfers generally by economic migrants back to their home country or to provide cash for travelers. Transactions can be either spot transactions or forward transactions.[1]

Companies by country

India

Foreign exchange markets in India has shown a steady increase as a consequence of increase in the volume of foreign trade of the country, improvement in the communications systems and greater access to the international exchange markets. The volume of transactions in these markets amounting to about USD 2 billion [2] per day does not compete favorably with any well developed foreign exchange market of international repute but with the entry of online Foreign Exchange Companies the market is steadily growing.

Around 25% of currency transfers/payments in India are made via non-bank Foreign Exchange Companies.[3] Most of these companies use the USP of better exchange rates than the banks. They are regulated by Foreign Exchange Dealer's Association of India (FEDAI) and any transaction in foreign Exchange is governed by Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA)1999.

Uganda

United Kingdom

It is estimated that in the UK, 14% of currency transfers/payments[4] are made via non-bank Foreign Exchange Companies. These companies' selling point is usually that they will offer better exchange rates or cheaper payments than the customer's bank. UK forex brokers are not covered under the Financial Services Compensation Scheme[5] however FCA Authorised Payment Institutions are required to safeguard funds in accordance with Regulation 19 of the Payment Services Regulations 2009.[6]

The 10 largest companies in the UK by net profit as at August 2012:

No. Company Accounting Date Pre Tax Net Profit
1 Western Union Business Solutions (formerly Travelex)[nb 1] 31 December 2010 £11,048,000
2 Moneycorp[nb 2] 31 August 2011 £7,660,000
3 World First UK Ltd 31 January 2012 £4,494,000
4 HiFX 30 June 2011 £4,486,000
5 Currencies Direct Ltd 30 June 2011 £4,471,000
6 Schneider (renamed Monex Europe Limited) 31 March 2012 £3,500,278
7 OPT 09 Feb 2014 £3,387,157
8 Foreign Currency Direct 31 October 2011 £1,687,364
9 AFEX 31 December 2011 £1,583,459
10 Global Reach Partners/Corporate FX 31 December 2011 £1,289,000

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ It is difficult to tell the exact revenue generated by Travelex from their private and corporate foreign exchange due to the number of entities and enterprise areas they have. £10m is an estimate although the group parent entity Travelex Holdings Ltd posted a loss of £150m for the year to 31 December 2009.
  2. ↑ TTT Moneycorp Limited also has high-street and airport/station bureaux de change. This profit figures includes that profit.

References

  1. ↑ "Spot and Forward Transactions" (PDF). USBank. Retrieved 13 December 2013.
  2. ↑ http://www.pondiuni.edu.in/storage/dde/downloads/ibiv_forex.pdf
  3. ↑ Julian, Saidur. "Top Forex Brokers". Fx Daily Report. Retrieved 7 October 2016.
  4. ↑ The Sunday Times (UK), 16 July 2006
  5. ↑ Boyce, Lee. "Beat the foreign exchange trap: How to send money overseas cheaply and securely". MailOnline. Retrieved 13 December 2013.
  6. ↑ "The Payment Services Regulations 2009". www.legislation.gov.uk. Retrieved 2017-02-13.
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